Wednesday, August 27, 2008

An old email relived..........contd....

This post is in continuation with the last one, titled - "An old email relived..........". I had also visited our CSE Department at college and interacted with almost all our dear teachers. I had deliberately kept this description out of my last mail for two reasons : one being my last mail had become quite voluminous, and secondly I was unsure about how my narrations would be received by my friends. Seeing an instant positive response and the hunger to know more about one's own alma-mater, I posted the below mail the very next day 25th April, 2006 describing the happenings at CSE Department. This is how it went :

priyo bondhugon,

kalke department e giye prothomei mukh dekhlam tde'r. sir der jhups uni aar tandra pal bose chilen. ami giye dekha korlam.

emni anek kothai hochhilo tder sathe. salary niye khub dukkho korchilen. bollen je college teacher nichhe na. khub baaje obostha. ami aar koto samal debo. specialized subject hole anek bhalo porate partam. tomader aaro bhalo bhalo problem dite partam. ami bollam je syllabus change kora uchit. tate tde jeno aaro bhenge porlen. khub dukkho korchilen je subratara keno project koreni bhalo kore. tarpor pray amar pae pore gelen. bollen khoma kore diyo. hoyto tomader kom number diyechi, kichu mone koro na, manush matraoi bhul hoy. ami tomader motivate korte parini. aamar dosh.

majhkhan theke tandra pal khali daant bar kore hense jachhilen. hothat ekta adhkhaoa veg pattice amake offer korlen. dekhei matha gorom hoye gelo(keno pune basira bujhte parbe nischay!). email id dilen , sabai ke mail korte bollen. bollen recs jeno asi. uni amay sanga deben.

nandi to dekha matrai funda suru kore dilo. project er kaaj ki niye . ami satisfied naki , eisob. dept'er alumni der aaro active hoa uchit. sakale mile funds diye prizes suru kora uchit studentsder janye. teacherder sathe interaction kora uchit. aicte theke loke ese naki depter sirder khub jhere geche. anek queries kore chilo about the whereabouts of ex-students. nandi bollo "amra fyalfyal kore cheye chilam , bujhle. goutam dao kichu bolte parlo na , bhebe dekho. (ha ha ha)". bollo tomra ekta portal banao depter alumnider janya. goutam da seta link kore deoar byabastha korben. khub abak hoye gelam jokhon nandi sir prasun'er kotha jigyes korlen.

gsar er dekha pai ni. kavita boudir dekha pai ni. goswami kothay fute dilo. kotha bolar sujog hoy ni. dg chilo na, thakleo kotha boltam na.

gsanyal'er ghorer samne dariye chilam pray 5 minute. tarpor bollo ki dorkar. emni ekta duto kotha bollam , bollam je baire nit dgp'r cse depter khub sunam. byas kaaj hoye gelo. etokhhon danriye danriye paa byatha korchilo. ei mithye kothata bole ac roomer bhetore boste pelam. sunlen amar client avaya. bollen colleger sab internet er kaaj naki avaya kore. uni avaya'r sabaike chenen. ami jeno fire giye boli avayar lokeder je ami dr. g. sanyaler chatra. hostel'e internet deoa onar ekta boro achievement. anek habbhab nilo aarki.

sabitabrata hothat amake pase deke nilo. bollo o naki lic agent. sekhan theke or anek taka. anek bhantalo. ami jeno or kache insurance kori. eisob aar ki.

mane ja bujhlam keui paltayni depte. bhebe bhaloi laaglo. aar han, lgc1 aar lgc2 natun rong hoyeche, dark pink. jaghanya hoyeche. ke class nebe, kothay nebe ta niye jhamela legei royeche.

bhagya bhalo goswami chilo na nahole mail ta aaro boro hoto.

--
Swarnendu Biswas,
Project Engineer,
V & NGN Group,
Wipro Technologies,
Pune-411057.

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mob:- +919890021026

An old email relived..........

This mail was composed by me during my visit to Durgapur after spending nine months away from home. I was in Pune then working for Wipro Technologies. What makes this special is it was my first big journey away from home. I had come back home taking a two week long leave. And what a sweet experience it was!!! Really lived and enjoyed every second of that vacation. And I did visit our Alma-mater, NIT Durgapur. That was another first - first time since we left college. What I did after that visit was compose a long informal mail and shared my experiences at college with most of my friends. The mail had been composed in bengali on 24th April, 2006. Here's how it went:

bondhugon,

aajke ami anek din baade college gechilam. anek kichu natun jinis o tathya janlam, dekhlam. segulo tomader sathe share korte chai. tobe amar bangla ta ektu kancha kina, tai banan bhul hote pare.

ei jemon naru'r jhups kichui paltai ni. naru ekhono janaseba ba samajseba ko
re jachhe (or humble langarkhanaye ekhono pray bini paisate khudarta jubakder khaiye jacchen). isshhh punete jadi ekta naru thakto!!!

colleger samne natun gate hochhe, main building'er samne bosche suddha jaler(kare kaye ke zane!!!) foara. high voltage laboratory'r pase hochhe natun mba'r building. aar ekhon college'ta pray fort hoye geche, jabardast railing diyeche charepase.

college e ekhon natun director esechen jadio se temporary mone hoy. honur naam swapan bhattacharya , ju'r ex cse'r professor. maal tar naki khub funda, anek bhalo bhalo sab hold ache.

ebar campussing start hoar kotha chilo 8th may tcs diye. tcs bolechilo 150 jon nebe. second company naki infosys. swapanda naki infy asar byapare help korechen. apatoto ei duto asche jana geche. tpsw'te ekhon rajib chatterjee bose. tobe date postponed hoye geche. bodhoy summer vacation er por abar start hobe. ekhono obdhi final semester'er date o deyni.

25th theke recstacy start hochhe. char din'i bhalo artist ache. 25th ache fossils, 26th ache vineet (indian idol'er keu homra chomra hobe), 27th ache shreya ghosal aar 28th ache krosswindz. ami nije eka eka attend korbo na hoyto, bondhura keu ele amake ekbar janas.

college e koekdin aage aicte theke delegation esechilo. infrastructure, student performance eisob dekhe khub bodnum kore geche. boleche ekhono aaro unnati korte hobe. teacher der boleche je apnara students der motivate korte paren na. keu higher studies korche na. sabai pass kore chakri korche eta bhalo lakkhan noi, ei sob aar ki. sune mone holo amader dept'er teacher ra besh jhar'o kheyeche.

cse dept e gechilam. sekhane teacher der sathe dekha korlam , kotha bollam. je jemon se serokom'i ache. gandu hullu ket nilo, t de to choriyei gelo, tandra pal amake veg puff offer korechilo aar nandi dilo hullu funda. college'e ekhono serokom bhabe teacher recruit hoyni. process start hoyeche kintu ..........

na mail anek boro hoye jachhe. departmenter ghotona porer kistite janabo.


--
Swarnendu Biswas,
Project Engineer,
V & NGN Group,
Wipro Technologies,
Pune-411057.
mob:- +919890021026

"Knowledge speaks but Wisdom listens."

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Thursday, August 14, 2008

Oxymorons

The following is a nice list of common oxymorons in our literature. Note that the list is not compiled by me and does not reflect my opinion. The following is an excerpt of an article published on the web. Accuracy of usage is also not guaranteed. The dictionary defines an 'oxymoron' as a combination of contradictory terms. For instance, a 'sensitive boss' would be an oxymoron! Here's the pick of the best ones ever heard or used.

50. Act naturally
49. Found missing
48. Resident alien
47. Advanced BASIC
46. Genuine imitation
45. Airline Food
44. Good grief
43. Same difference
42. Almost exactly
41. Government organization
40. Sanitary landfill
39. Alone together
38. Legally drunk
37. Silent scream
36. British fashion
35. Living dead
34. Small crowd
33. Business ethics
32. Soft rock
31. Butt Head
30. Military Intelligence
29. Software documentation
28. New York culture
27. New classic
26. Sweet sorrow
25. Childproof
24. "Now, then..."
23. Synthetic natural gas
22. Christian Scientists
21. Passive aggression
20. Taped live
19. Clearly misunderstood
18. Peace force
17. Extinct Life
16. Temporary tax increase
15. Computer jock
14. Plastic glasses
13. Terribly pleased
12. Computer security
11. Political science
10. Tight slacks
9. Definite maybe
8. Pretty ugly
7. Twelve-ounce pound cake
6. Diet ice cream
5. Rap music
4. Working vacation
3. exact estimate
2. Religious tolerance
1. Microsoft works

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Prayer

The following is a small prayer that we used to recite devotedly every morning for ten years of my schooling at St. Xavier's School, Durgapur. It seemed a daily core, and may be I was then not mature enough to understand the significance or the beauty in these lines. Now, after all these years, I probably am in a better position to appreciate the thoughts. And I miss those morning prayers that we used to recite – wholeheartedly, sometimes giggling, eyes seemingly half-closed etc.

Our Father in Heaven,
Holy be your name,
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done,
On earth as in heaven,
Give us today our daily bread
And forgive us our sins,
As we forgive those who sin against us
Do not lead us to test
But deliver us from evil
Amen

Thursday, July 31, 2008

My personal space

How come I write about this? Today I was going through some tips on how to improve real-time software application development. The author has very meticulously listed down quite a few points which can be classified as a checklist of Don'ts during development. Kudos to him. All the more for I stuck upon a particular statement the author had highlighted - "My problem is different - Learn from mistakes of others..rarely is a problem so different to be ignored".

This statement has started a flurry of opinions within me. Opinions vastly biased and now highly confused. This statement probably reflects a strong trait of myself and I realise it the more I go brood over the above statement.

What will this post contain?

I have now try and justify the particular trait that I am talking about.I will debate and try and see whether it acts as a virtue or a vice for me.

What I know about myself?

I always pride myself on my principles, honour is foremost. And a thing I try is to respect one's personal space. Be it colleagues, seniors, parents, rarely do I intrude until I find an opportune moment. This might be a bit different with friends, people whom I consider so close to ignore this demarcation. To illustrate, I find it very uncomfortable if I spring upon two people deep in conversation. It may be they are stuck with some issues which I am very competent in solving. Or they might be discussing something which I am not aware and would have been better off having shared their views. But so be it. I would rather miss something important than make a nuisance of myself.

There are some times of the day when I love to be myself and be aloof and spend sometime with myself. These mood shifts are so very frequent and irregular that even I am not sure how to handle those times. Right now it is feeling like bliss for I am undisturbed, listening to Bryan Adams and being able to pen down something about myself which I would love to explore and understand. I love to keep my world to myself. I love those moments when I have spent the whole monsoon afternoon reading a book and staring at the outside world, those chilly winter nights which I spent lying coyly in my room at the college hostel.

I attribute this trait to being a single child. I had everything a child could ask for - indoor sports , toys and parents willing to spend their time with you. My entire summers were invariably spent in the backyard playing cricket or tennis. So much so that I hated being away from home for any extended period of time. Seldom have I found it troublesome to idle away a whole day all by myself.

This has sometimes made things a bit complicated for me mostly in college and now in work. I feel this has limited my scope of sharing and increasing my knowledge. Maybe I would not have wasted time on those issues faced by my colleagues earlier but only if I had the sense of participating in conversations. This probably helps in having a broader outlook and being abreast of varied opinions.

Still it seems I respond better when asked for.

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Saturday, May 24, 2008

The Train

The whistle blows, the crows caw
The engine puffs, the coaches chuff
The train starts,
Onward to its destiny

It was a long, hard day in Kolkata. My friend and I had roaming all round throughout the day, and now it was time for me to return to my nest. We had a great time, sharing a lot, and meaning a lot.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Autumn

This is one of my personal favourites, dated 30th September, 1998.

After a long period of heavy rain
Whenever you look up at the sky
And see white feather-like clouds
floating, and smell the sweet
smell of the on-coming winter,
You know it is autumn.

Whenever you see the red-ball
Glowing brightly in the sky as a
valuable ruby in a bale of cotton;
And you are able to feel the
weak warmth in your heart; Gladly
you remember it is autumn.

When you see the rivers, lakes
Full to the brim, and
the rippling waves shine in the
moonlight as a mirror, and
at last all merge in one,
You know it is autumn.

When you move out of your
pilgrimage for a rendezvous,
And travel along the margin
of the greenest trees, your heart
is filled with the smell of joy,
You feel it is autumn.

When you travel to the country
And see the lush green fields
in full bloom with God's mercy;
And also see the little creatures
Playing out to their heart's content
You recollect it is autumn.

When you notice the hustle-bustle
of city life pause for a while,
And people rejoice in the pujas,
hear the hallelujah, foster the
uniting spirit of universal fraternity
You learn it is autumn.

And this is my revised version.....now come come....don't ask for the version management and the requirement spec......

After four months of heavy rain
Whenever you look up at the sky
And see white feather-like clouds
floating, and smell the sweet
smell of the on-coming winter,
You know it is autumn.

Whenever you see the Sun
Glowing brightly in the sky as a
valuable ruby in a bale of cotton;
And you are able to feel the
weak warmth in your heart; Gladly
you remember it is autumn.

When you see the rivers, lakes
Full to the brim, and
the rippling waves shine in the
moonlight as a mirror, and
at last all merge in one,
You know it is autumn.

When you move out of your
pilgrimage for a rendezvous,
And travel along the horizon
of the greenest trees and a blue sky,
your heart is filled with the smell of joy,
You feel it is autumn.

When you travel to the country
And see the lush green fields
in full bloom, with God's mercy;
And also see the little creatures
Playing out to their heart's content
You recollect it is autumn.

When you notice the hustle-bustle
of city life pause for a while,
And people rejoice in the pujas,
hear the hallelujah, foster the
uniting spirit of universal fraternity
You learn it is autumn.
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In the woods

This is one of the last poems I wrote before the interest ebbed or rather discontinued to be honest, dated 20th March, 1999.

The Sun was at its fiery best
when I entered the woods, my
rifle steady at my hand, and
my dog close to my heels.
It was a rabbit we had chased,
and that silly, weak creature
had almost given up. It was not
before long my rifle found its
target, and the dogs were mad
with joy.

As we rested in the cool woods,
my heart full to the brim with
the delight of a winner(victorious
over a rabbit). But what was it
I had killed that day? Was it a
mere weak creature, unsuited to
the world and the object of our
cruel mind? Or was it a sweet
little living being God had created
to add to the variety of HIS
wonderful creations?
It is a long time since; but still
now I have found no answer.
I feel guilty.

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Last midnight

This one is dated 19th March, 1999.

It was dot-on-twelve, and
I woke. I wasn't really in deep
slumber, but something woke me.
It was not a nightmare, nor the
oppressive heat which disturbed me.
Was it due to a faint sound, faint to
the normal ear, but beat in my mind
like a gong? But then I saw, faint,
dark, massive, crouching slowly by me.
'Your hour is past now, come
Let's go', and then realisation
slowly dawned upon me.
All these years I worked
akin to a machine, but for whom?
I had earned nothing which was
going to bring me peace in my eternal
sleep. And then, in that last summer
midnight of my life, I wept and lamented
for not being able to live up to the
rules prepared by God for I was no
altruist.
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Poems

I had a poor habit when I was a bit younger, I used to create trash on paper...sorry, poems and not trash. How can you call them trash when they are so close to your heart? Now after so many years, I feel the glow and love for those creations rekindle inside me...and so is the love for poems, love for good literature. I have planned to post those little pieces out over here as it is..Now that I go through them, I can feel and compare my mindset, my capabilities and maturity. I will also then try and refine and poslish those creations and perhaps make them better without changing or affecting the original theme.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

What are you - a manager or a leader?

What are you? How do you identify yourself? Rate yourself against the following checklist.......And at the end of it all sit down and try and improve.
  • a manager takes care of where you are;
    a leader takes you to new places
  • a manager deals with complexity;
    a leader deals with uncertainty
  • a manager is concerned with finding the facts;
    a leader makes decisions
  • a manager is concerned with doing things right;
    a leader is concerned with doing right things
  • a manager's critical concern is efficiency;
    a leader focusses on effectiveness
  • a manager creates policies;
    a leader establishes principles
  • a manager sees and hears what is going on;
    a leader hears when there is no sound and sees when there is no light

Do not remember the source of these definitions.....did read it somewhere....some leading daily might be.....and it was some three years ago...before i left for pune.....loved it a lot......